


A Sporting Chance

by blackgoliath



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Bunny isn't used to being human again, M/M, Unwanted Body Changes, an old fic I'm rewriting, humanization, if I end up needing them, inspired by humanized Bunnymund art
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:36:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackgoliath/pseuds/blackgoliath
Summary: As Bunnymund is preparing for another Easter, the previous spirit of Spring, Eostre, shows up to try and prove to the Man in the Moon that she still deserves to be believed in.





	1. A Series of Visitors

**Author's Note:**

> so I wrote this fic originally like.....literally six years ago oops. but rewatching the film recently made me want to rewrite it, so here we are.
> 
> Eostre's presence is inspired by her appearance in Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"

Jack was lying in the shade when Bunnymund plopped down beside him, his special paintbrush clutched in one paw while the other held an unpainted egg. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree, purposefully ignoring his company; Jack had been popping in and out ever since the Pitch Incident, and while Bunny wasn't overly fond of this, he'd grown accustomed to pretending Jack wasn't there.

Jack, however, was watching him curiously. “Why do you bother painting any of the eggs? You’ve got those flowers to do it for you.”

There was a moment of silence, where Bunnymund's emotions warred between continuing to ignore the winter spirit and saying something. The latter won out, and he replied, “It ain't the same. I like to make some googies special. These’re the ones that are the hardest to find, which makes ‘em the best.”

“But won’t that go rotten before a kid finds it? You’ve still got four days until Easter.”

“This one’s goin’ to Canada. It’ll be cold enough to keep it fresh.” Bunnymund glanced at Jack out of the corner of his eye, ears flicking. “I’m sure you’ll see to that.”

Jack smiled innocently. “What ever would give you that idea?”

Bunnymund hmphed and went back to painting his egg, focusing on the intricate patterns and colors. Jack, for once, was quiet as well, and time passed in a surprisingly comfortable silence. Bunnymund had almost forgotten Frost was there, losing himself in his work, when he felt something heavy press against his leg. Jerking with surprise, his ears shot straight up as he looked down and saw Jack making himself comfortable in Bunny’s lap, resting his head on Bunny's hip and curling toward Bunny's leg.

“Crikey! What're you doin', you nearly had me jumpin' out of me skin--!”

“Hate to admit it, Cottontail, but your leg’s a heck of a lot more comfortable than that rock I’ve been laying on.” As he spoke, Jack shifted, pressing his cheek against the soft fur of Bunny's stomach.

Bunnymund’s whiskers twitched, and he was glad that it was impossible for Jack to see him blushing.

“Fine, but don’t think you can just use me like some pillow.”

Jack grinned up at the older Guardian. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Bunny narrowed his eyes, suspicious, though after a few minutes of this he returned to his task. The paint on the bristles of his paintbrush changed to red and he started a new, blockier pattern above the last one. He tried not to think about the warm presence resting in his lap, but he couldn't deny how...nice this was. Having Jack lying there, having that contact, quietly enjoying each other's company. Even as he worked on focusing his attention to painting, Bunny's lip curled in a quiet smile. The calm lasted for longer than Bunny would have thought possible, Jack lying against him without doing anything to ruin it – but it didn't last forever.

  
Bunny, absorbed in his painting, didn't notice Jack's shifting until there were fingers under his chin, scratching at just the right place for his eyes to roll back and one foot begin thumping against the ground.

“S-Stop that,” he managed, swatting Jack’s hand away. “I've got work to do.” He tried to return to painting, but Jack, of course, merely chuckled and started doing it again.

“Nnnn.” Bunnymund’s foot thumped faster, his mouth curling into an unintended smile. Damn Jack for finding that sweet spot! He never missed an opportunity to take advantage of this particular weakness of Bunny’s. Bunnymund let it go on for a few seconds more before gathering the strength to push Jack off of him all together.

“Right, that’s enough of that.” Steeling himself in his decision, Bunny bent his legs, practically hugging his knees against his chest to keep Jack from coming close again.

“Aw, come on, Cottontail.”

“Nope, you’ve lost yer pillow privileges.” Uncurling somewhat, Bunnymund flicked some paint at Jack’s face, smirking when it landed on his nose. “’Bout time you headed out anyway. You’ve got work yourself to do.”

He tried not to feel guilty at the flash of disappointment that crossed Jack's face. “Yeah, I know. You’re always reminding me.” Jack wiped the paint off and rubbed it on the nearest egg. “But I can see when I’m not wanted.”

“Oy, that’s not—“

“See you later.” Jack, recovering quickly, winked and hopped up onto a nearby rock outcropping.

“Now wait just a bloody minute—“

“Can’t, sorry! Too much work to do!” Jack straightened, shouted “Wind!” and laughed as he was caught by the gust that blew up out of nowhere. The wind pulled at Bunny's fur, scattering eggs and strewing debris across the grass around him. The force of it was nothing compared to the glare he gave to Jack Frost's retreating form.

Eventually, he leaned back against the tree, grumbling to himself as he finished painting the egg. Without Jack around, it was much easier to focus on his work; there was something about that Guardian that distracted him, more than he cared to admit. Whenever Jack was around – which was more often than Bunnymund thought he would be – his thoughts would scatter, and he'd spend more time focusing on Jack than preparing for Easter or caring for the Warren.

Forcing himself to stop brooding over this, Bunny concentrated on the remaining eggs he had to paint. He'd gotten into a good rhythm and created quite a pile of finished eggs beside him before he started to, slowly, realize that something was wrong.

His ears shot up and flicked from side to side, his nose twitching as he picked up a new – albeit familiar – scent. He pushed himself to his feet, hopping forward on all fours before sitting on his hindquarters and sniffing again. He could smell her – and he knew exactly who it was, from her scent – but he couldn't see her. Not until he approached a nearby tree, where her smell was strongest.

“Eostre.” He bounded forward another foot. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“I thought I’d stop by, see how you were doing.” Eostre flashed him a smile, her brilliantly white teeth almost painfully so in the sunlight of the Warren. She sat on a branch, leaning forward as she spoke. In the crook of an arm she held several unpainted eggs, and turned away from him a few times to coo and tickle them with her fingers.

“What do you want?”

Eostre looked up, then shifted, falling backward off the branch with grace. She grabbed it with her free hand as she fell, and easily flipped to land on her feet in the grass, still carefully cradling the eggs in her arm.

“Who was that boy who was here just now? He was cute.” Stepping forward, she smiled down at the eggs, then turned that smile on him. In the ever-present sunlight of the Warren, her hair shone like gold, giving her an ethereal glow. Bunny tensed, the fur on his back rising.

“What,” he repeated, “Are you doing here?”

“I told you, I came to visit.” Eostre looked up, turning that smile on him. It didn't last long, as a small group of butterflies fluttered past, drawing her attention. Impossibly, she seemed to light up further, until she looked back at him. “I can’t remember the last time I came here. The Warren is still as beautiful as ever.”

“Thanks,” Bunny said, still tense, his ears rimrod straight above his head. He was searching for something in her voice, something that would betray her intentions---

“It reminds me of how my glade looked when I was the spirit of spring.” Eostre sighed and set the eggs on the ground, watching as they waddled away on their spindly legs. “Why, when I was in charge—“

There it was. “Well yer not,” Bunnymund interrupted. “Manny chose me to replace you, remember?”

Eostre's expression sagged, her arms wrapping around herself as she looked away. He almost felt bad. “Always the sensitive one, aren’t you?” she said, with a shaky laugh. “Sometimes I like to reminisce about the good days, okay? You don’t have to get on my case about it.” His guilt increased when she looked up at him, her face so warped with sadness and pain. He hesitated, then hopped forward, and laid a paw on her arm.

“Aw, I’m sorry, Osty. I shouldn’t a’ said that.”

Eostre took a deep breath, and while she didn't shake him off, she wouldn't look at him again, either. "It's okay," she said. "You're right. Manny did choose you to replace me. But...I'm going to show him he was wrong." She did meet his gaze, then, and something in it had him dropping his paw and backing away. She, too, took a few steps back, then added, "I've always liked you, Aster. I'm sorry for this." 

“Sorry for what?”

That was the last thing he was able to say, as Eostre backed away from him, her eyes sad. He tried to follow her, but before he could approach she raised a hand, pointed at him, and shouted something in a language too old for him to understand. He froze in surprise, too busy watching her, trying to figure out what she'd said, that he couldn't run away before the wind rose around him.

This was nothing like the winds Jack called; this wind tore at his fur, his ears, lifting him from the ground and stealing any shouts for help. He thrashed in the sudden tornado, unable to see the egg guardians that flocked to the squall and stood helplessly, faces turned toward anger. He couldn't see how the gale tore up the grass and eggs nearby, though he felt them as they smacked against his body, blind to what they actually were.

And, somehow, the wind wasn't even the worst part of it – he felt a terrible itching all over his skin, as if he'd been bitten by a thousand mosquitos. It was a sensation that increased the longer he was in this gust of wind, something that took root in his scalp and tailbone most of all, that he could do nothing about as he was flung through the air.  
Eventually, the wind died down, and Bunny fell – hard – to the ground. He lay there for a while, too dazed and dizzy to collect himself. When he was finally able to lift his head, he found the Warren empty.

Eostre was gone; there was no sign - other than the uprooted flowers, tossed eggs, and other debris from the wind - that she had even been there at all.  
Bunny slowly pushed himself up from the ground, wincing at the way everything ached as he moved. He didn't know what she'd done to him, but it was clearly some sort of attack, and as soon as he'd recovered he'd-- his fists clenched at his side, lips lifting in a bared grimace, except. Wait.

Unballing his fists, he reached up over his head. His grasping hands met empty air – there were no ears to be found. Instead, when he let his hands sink to his scalp, he found hair. Soft, curled, hair.

Not fur.

He slowly brought his shaking hands down, so that he could look at them properly. And there they were – dark brown, calloused, fingers curling. Hands. Not the paws he was used to. Not the gray fur he'd known for the past five hundred years.

Bunnymund stared at his hands, eyes wide, and then he broke.

“Oh, no, no no no, no! No!” He ran toward his burrow, the small little cavern where he kept all of his most personal possessions, tripping and stumbling as he went on his new human legs. He tripped over a rock and fell hard just in front of the burrow, cursing as he pushed himself to his feet and lurched inside. There was an egg-shaped rock, glowing a soft pink, just inside the entrance on the left. He pushed it into the wall, panting from the exertion of his mad dash, then collapsed to the ground in a heap. He closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that this was all a nightmare, and when the other Guardians showed up they’d tell him to stop overreacting about bad dreams.

Because that's what this had to be. A nightmare.

Right?


	2. New Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the other Guardians arrive, several things become clear all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not certain how regular updates will be, even though it's a bit easier to 'write' this considering I have something I've already written that I'm just heavily editing. Either way, thanks to everyone who's read and kudo'd!

Around the world, from the Pole to Toothiana’s palace to the woods of Burgess and even on Sandy’s dream cloud, fresh spring flowers were sprouting in thick clumps. They burst out of walls, floors, tables, and any other surface available, quickly taking up as much space as possible before wilting almost as suddenly as they'd appeared. In North’s workshop, the yetis gargled their surprise as flowers sprung from their workstations and immediately wilted away to nothing - North burst out of his private workshop and started shouting orders, pulling on his furry hat and thick coat as he headed to the sleigh. In Toothiana’s palace, her fairies chattered excitedly at the flowers winding their way down the hanging structures that held the teeth, and Tooth stopped mid-order, sharing a look with several of the fairies, before she shot out of the palace and off toward the Warren. Floating in the air above a sleepy little town in the midwestern US, Sandy’s dream cloud had so many flowers on it it looked like a small meadow; he changed it into a dragon and yelled silently with glee as it flew over the sleeping town below. And in Burgess, though Jack didn’t know the call signs of all of his friends yet, he realized only one Guardian could make flowers bloom out of nowhere like that, and this must mean something was wrong.

When the four of them arrived at the Warren, Bunnymund had recovered enough to greet them. He’d even found a pair of pants that fit (made by a well-meaning Tooth one year and given to him for Christmas; she’d thankfully forgotten to put a hole in the rear for his tail). It was uncomfortable, wearing clothes again, but he knew that greeting them naked would be worse, and that Jack would never let it go if he showed up without anything on. Therefore, when he met the four at the entrance to the Warren's tunnels, he was at least partially clothed, and did his best to hide how much the pants made him fidget.

It didn't help that, at first, they had no idea who he was.

“What are you doing in Bunny's home?” North asked, brandishing one of his swords. Behind him, Toothiana hovered, fists balled, and a series of threatening images flashed over Sandman's head.

Jack, of course, threw caution to the wind, crowding into Bunny's space with the hooked end of his staff nearly touching Bunny's neck. “If you've hurt him, I swear--”

“Oy, oy! It's me!” Bunny backed up a step, shoving Jack's staff away. “If you try'n use that on me, mate – I may not be what I used to be, but I ain't gonna let you push me around!”

Something about his voice – or maybe the way he hunched defensively, more like a rabbit would than a man – had the others drawing up short. Jack's eyebrows lifted so high they nearly disappeared in his hair, while Tooth hesitantly flitted forward, hands hovering around Bunny's face.

“But what happened?” she asked, fluttering around him, fingers just shy of brushing his skin.

“Eostre. She changed me.” Bunny glared off to the side as he answered, and therefore didn't see Jack approaching him. He jerked at the poke Jack gave him, looking down at what the winter spirit was holding out for him to take – a mirror, made of ice.

“Thought you might wanna see how changed you are,” Jack said, and though he grinned, there was a tension to his features, a worry that made Bunny's heart rate increase. He carefully took the mirror, and after a moment to steel himself, looked at his reflection.

He saw dark brown skin, a wide nose, deep-set brown eyes and thickly curled black hair – it was a face he hadn’t looked at in centuries. Moving the mirror along his body, further inspection showed that he’d at least kept the markings he’d had on his fur, though now they were black tattoos.

His fingers tightened on the edges of the mirror as he brought it back up to look at his face. “Eostre came to the Warren,” he repeated, voice tight. “And she made me like this.” With trembling hands, he gripped the mirror and, much to everyone’s surprise, smashed it on his knee.

“Oh, Bunny.” Tooth laid a hand on his arm, but he scowled and shook it off.

“Eostre? Who’s that?” Jack asked. Bunnymund opened his mouth, but North physically pushed him aside; 'Santa' never missed an opportunity to tell a story.

“Before Bunny was being chosen by Man in Moon, Eostre was spirit of Spring,” North began. “She was very powerful, like goddess, and worshipped by children and adults alike! But then came dark ages, and children needed guardian from Pitch, so Bunny was chosen as new Spring spirit, as Guardian. But while children now believing in Easter Bunny, everyone stop believing in Eostre.” North, Tooth, and Sandy shared a sorrowed look, a small shudder of an unspoken fear they all had. Bunnymund took the opportunity to butt in.

“Her run was over an’ I replaced her. It’s just the way o’ things!”

“We hadn’t heard from her in hundreds of years,” Tooth added. “For her to show up now, so soon after Pitch…” She wrung her hands nervously. A series of images – first a picture of a woman, then an inequality sign, followed last by a silhouette of Pitch – flashed reassuringly over Sandy’s head.

“Sandy is right. Eostre is no Pitch.” North cracked his knuckles and turned to Bunny, whose expression was thunderous. “But she must have reason for doing this.”

“She didn’t give any reason! She just showed up and turned me into this!”

“To be honest, I think he looks better this way,” Jack piped up, perching on the top of his upright staff. Sandy smiled and North hid his chuckle behind a cough.

“It’s _not funny_ , Frost,” Bunnymund snapped, shoving his finger in Jack’s face. “Easter’s in four days!”

“You can still be making with Easter,” North said, putting a gentle, firm hand on Bunny's shoulder and pulling him back. “Did she take your magic?”

“No, but the Warren barely recognizes me.” Bunnymund bent down and reached out to an egg teetering past; it ran away from his questing fingers, then, as if changing its mind, turned around and waddled back toward him. He pushed it away with a sigh. “And any time I go near one o’ the statues…” To prove his point, Bunnymund inched toward the nearest egg guardian. When it spotted him, there was the sound of grating stone against stone as it switched to an angry face and, while Bunny tried to back away, began to charge. It wasn’t until he shouted “OY, IT’S ME!” that the statue, apparently recognizing the voice of its master, skidded to a stop, tearing up grass and dirt in its wake. Its body shifted back to a neutral face, and it wandered back to its post.

“See?!” Bunnymund said, nearly hysterical, gesturing at the retreating statue. “Easter’s ruined. Again.” He glared pointedly at Jack, who took a step back, hands raised with palms facing forward.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! You said yourself last year wasn’t my fault. Pitch’s nightmares would’ve destroyed those eggs anyway.”

“Doesn’t make a difference.” Bunny sighed, and dragged his hands down his face. “If my googies won’t listen long enough to get themselves painted, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“You could just leave it to me.”

All five heads whipped toward the source of this new voice, Bunnymund already scowling and reaching for his boomerangs. Eostre sat on the branch of the nearest tree, her legs swinging free. She looked down on them with a bright smile.

“You!” Bunnymund didn't hesitate, flinging one of his boomerangs at her, ignoring North's shout for him to wait. Eostre’s smile grew as she dropped, dodging the projectile and hanging by her legs. When it sped back toward her, she swung up into her previous position, laughing as if the two of them were playing a game. Bunnymund caught the boomerang on its return trip and was reaching for an egg bomb when North physically stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Why are you doing this?” North asked, stepping in front of an enraged Bunny. He slowly pulled one of his swords from its scabbard and pointed it accusingly at Eostre, who didn't move from her chosen branch. “What have you done to our friend?”

“I just gave myself a sporting chance.”

A question mark appeared above Sandy’s troubled face, and Toothiana fluttered forward, a righteously angry frown crossing her lips.

“And what is that supposed to mean? Why don’t you just change Bunny back?”

“We could always beat her up,” Jack called from behind the other four. Despite the playful expression, his tone had an edge to it, and his grip on his staff was tight.

Eostre threw her hands up, waving them desperately. “No, wait, please!” she pleaded. “I’m not here to fight!”

“Then why’d you come back?” Bunnymund shouted, starting forward only to be stopped again by North’s vice-like grip. “The only thing yer gonna get from me is a swift kick in the—“

“Bunny!” Tooth said sharply.

“Five hundred years and you haven’t gotten any calmer,” Eostre mused, watching Bunny fume. “I meant what I said before. I turned Aster into a human so I would have a fair chance.”

North, Toothiana, and Sandman all looked at each other, while Jack came forward to stand by North, warily glancing between the Guardians and their intruder. Something unspoken passed between the three and, keeping his grip on Bunny, North repeated, “A fair chance?”

“Yes.” Eostre's smile returned. “I’m going to prove to Manny that I still have what it takes to be someone children will love.”

“How are ya gonna do that? _Nobody believes in you!_ ” Bunnymund interrupted, and Eostre flinched. Jack, under his breath, muttered, “He really likes using that one, doesn't he?”

“They will believe in me,” Eostre recovered quickly, her mouth set in a firm line. “Because this year, I'll be putting on the perfect Easter!”

The Guardians exchanged looks again as Bunnymund finally shook himself free of North’s grip.

“Yea? An’ how’re you going to do that?” he asked mockingly. “Easter’s mine, princess, an’ I ain’t letting some deluded, washed-up tart take it from me.”

“That’s why I was thinking it could be a competition.” Bunnymund stopped in his tracks, his nose twitching in a very rabbit-like way, though it looked strange for a human to do. “Ah, that got your interest, didn’t it? You always did love a challenge!” Eostre’s laugh was like bells tinkling in a spring breeze. “We’ll both work Easter, and whoever does a better job wins! Of course, that decision will be up to Manny. I’m thinking that my victory will put me back in his favor.”

“You think yer gonna win? Ha! You got another thing comin’.” For the first time since he’d been changed, Bunnymund grinned. “You don’t race a rabbit, mate.”

Eostre’s expression matched his perfectly. “Then it’s a good thing you aren’t a rabbit anymore, isn’t it?” Ignoring his noises of frustration, Eostre turned her attention to the others, who were quietly watching the two of them fight. “Don’t try to find me; my glade is well hidden, even from your magic. We’ll have a fair contest, and if I lose, none of you will ever hear from me again.” She smiled sadly.

“All I want is another chance.”

Bunnymund’s “I’ll show you another chance!” was lost in the warm gust of wind that blew up, creating a mini tornado of leaves and flowers around the branch where Eostre sat. When the wind subsided, she was gone.

“Can you—can you _believe_ —the nerve–!” Bunnymund sputtered with rage. He turned on his friends. “Right, so here’s the plan. We find that glade o’ hers, storm the place, and force her to change me back.” He looked up with a scowl when North put a hand on his shoulder.

“I am thinking, maybe we should let Eostre try,” North said gently.

The look on his face had Bunny's stomach twisting, and he knocked North's hand away. “An’ what happens when she ruins Easter? Oh, wait, I know – ‘Easter is not Christmas’, right? Easter doesn’t matter when your holiday’s not in danger, that it?!”

“Bunny, I don’t think she’s going to let Easter be ruined,” Tooth said, hovering beside her friend and resting her hand on his other shoulder. Unlike with North, he let it remain there, even as he frowned up at her. “Don’t you remember? Most of what you represent came from her. The eggs, the message of hope – she’s even the reason you’re a bunny.”

“ _Were_ a bunny,” Jack interjected.

“I _know_ all that,” Bunnymund said through clenched teeth. He looked from Toothiana to North, eyes narrowing. “An’ why are you two siding with her? She’s tryin’ to steal my holiday!”

Sandy added his two cents with some tinkling and several images flashing like lightning above his head, earning himself a glare from Bunny too. Tooth gently drew Bunny's attention back to her with a squeeze of his shoulder; the sympathy in her eyes made his stomach churn.

“Like Sandy said, Easter itself wasn’t Eostre’s to begin with. It just took its name from her. She’s a spirit of Spring, like Jack is a spirit of Winter, and you don’t see Jack trying to take Christmas from North.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Jack said smoothly, earning a chuckle from North.

“What we’re trying to say is, we don't think she's going to take your job,” Tooth went on. “And since you’re like this anyway…” She smiled sheepishly, and shrugged. “You might as well take the year off.”

“Are you—are you pullin’ my tail?” Bunnymund jerked away from her touch, slowly backing up as he stared at the others - his supposed friends - with an expression torn between betrayal and anger. “Yer really gonna side with her on this, aren’t ya? After everythin’ that happened with Pitch? Yer just gonna let her do this to me? Take Easter away from me?”

“Well… she did say you two could compete for it,” Tooth said uneasily. She was wringing her hands again, unsure of whether or not she was choosing the right side. “Why don’t you let us help? You all did wonders for me when my fairies were captured. The least we can do is help you the same way.”

“Yes, yes!” North clapped his hands. “We will deliver eggs all over world! I will bring yetis, and we will paint eggs, and we will be having best Easter ever!”

“Look, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t need yer help. Not when yer all so eager to let her do this.” Bunny crossed his arms over his chest and added, “And if it’s going to be a competition, then that'd be cheatin', an' I don't cheat.”

“I have no idea what you are meaning,” North said innocently, winking up at a perching Jack, who smirked. Nobody brought up how much cheating all of them – including Bunny – had done the year before when competing to see who could collect the most teeth.

“No, if it’s a fair contest she wants, then that’s what she’ll get.” Bunnymund crouched just like he would have when he was a rabbit and punched his left palm with his right fist. “I'll show her why Manny chose me to be the Guardian of Spring, an' I'll do it on my own. I’m going to win this barney or my name isn’t E. Aster Bunnymund!”

He thrust a hand upward at his declaration, only for the moment to be ruined when they all heard a loud thump as Jack fell off his staff. The other four turned to see him lying where he’d fallen, his body convulsing with hysterical laughter.

“’E. Aster’?” he choked, tears streaming from his eyes (only to freeze on his cheeks, creating a very interesting mosaic of ice droplets on his pale skin). “Really? _That’s_ your name?”

“You got a problem with that, mate?” Bunny’s tone was dangerous.

“It’s ‘Easter’! Could you be more corny?!” Jack kept cracking up, and Bunnymund could see that North, Toothiana, and Sandy were all trying very hard not to join him.

“Stop yer foolin’ around!” He brandished a boomerang, ignoring the snuffles and cackles still coming from Jack. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. You four need to hightail it out o’ here.” He pointed the end of the boomerang at North. “ _Especially_ you!”

North held up his hands. “What have I done?”

“You think I didn’t notice yer furballs back there paintin’ eggs?” He pointed the boomerang now at the two yetis sitting half-hidden by bushes on the banks of the Warren’s paint river. Both had pyramids of painted eggs next to them. They looked up, then immediately put their hands behind their back, hiding the paintbrushes and unfinished eggs they'd been working on.

“Ya didn’t paint enough spirals! Do it again!” Bunny yelled. The yeti on the right screamed gibberish in frustration and shoved all of his eggs into the river.

“All right, all right, we are going.” North put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. At his call, the two yetis abandoned their eggs and lumbered over to where their boss was standing. The one who'd pushed over his pyramid glared daggers at Bunny. “If you three are coming, I have room in the sleigh.” North grinned as Sandy excitedly shot forward, Tooth following in his wake. All that left was Jack, who was lying on the grass, seemingly still recovering from his laughing fit.

Bunnymund watched them go, then turned back to Jack when the latter didn't get up and head off after them. “You need to get goin’ too, mate,” he said, nudging Jack with his foot. “I’ve got googies to plant and paint and it’ll be hard enough without you whippin’ around causing mischief.”

“Who said I wanted to cause mischief?” Jack sat up on his elbows and gave Bunny a crooked grin. “You should let me help.”

“No. Like I told Tooth and North, it’d be—“

“Cheating?” The grin only grew, and Jack sat up more fully. “Maybe. But what Eostre doesn’t know won’t hurt her. And, let's be honest, you can't do this on your own and you know it. You need me.”

Bunnymund stared at Jack for a moment, thoughts whirling. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Jack was right; he'd told the Guardians he was going to do this alone, to prove that he could, but if he really thought about it, his chances weren't great on his own. He didn't want to have to rely on anyone else, but...of all the Guardians, Jack was the only one who came by regularly, who helped with the Warren (when he wasn't freezing parts of it).

The decision was obvious, and despite himself, his face broke out in an answering grin.

“Fine, you can help. But if you breathe a word to North or Tooth—“

“You’ll kill me and use my staff as a toothpick, I know.” A gust of air gently pushed Jack to his feet. “Just tell me what to do already.”

“Careful what you wish for.” Bunnymund clapped Jack on the back, enjoying how it made the smaller Guardian wince. Good, he still had his strength. “’Cause we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”


	3. A Little Bit Stressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has been helping Bunnymund prepare for Easter and his competition with Eostre, but will it be enough?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so maybe I got on a groove this weekend and managed to rewrite chapter three too. we'll see if I can keep it up and get chapter four out soon!

They worked for the next two days, and Bunnymund made good on his promise – he rarely let them stop to rest, only giving in once his newly-human body began to betray him, eyelids drooping and attention flagging. This was one of the most frustrating things about his current 'condition', the need to stop and lie down for an hour or so where before he could have kept going without a problem. Not that he didn't find anything else to be infuriated by, such as his clumsiness with his human fingers, how cold he'd get when a breeze blew through the Warren now that he didn't have fur, and how often Jack tried to run a hand through his curls, claiming they were 'just so soft he couldn't help it'.

(What he hated most about that was how nice it felt, and how much he wanted to lean into it, the way he would have when someone scratched beneath his chin when he was a rabbit. )

With only two days left, Bunny shoved all of that down. He couldn't let his predicament keep him from winning this challenge Eostre had set for him – no matter how distracting his 'helper' tended to be.

“So why aren’t we going after this Eostre again?” Jack sat cross-legged in the shade, a pile of unpainted eggs next to him. Instead of painting, he was terrorizing the walking eggs that came near him with tiny little snowballs, and Bunny was furiously fighting the urge to smack him. “When Pitch showed up, everyone was up in arms and ready to fight. But now—“

“Sandy was right about one thing: Eostre ain’t Pitch.” It was a reluctant admission, one that Bunny had to give in stilted, halting words. He sat in the sun, trying to concentrate on the half-painted egg in his hand as he spoke. “For a while, before I officially became a Guardian, we were all friends, Tooth and Eostre especially. It’s rare that you were so alone – we spirits like to throw a big shindig every once in a while, where everyone gets together.” He didn't meet Jack's eyes, failing to mention that he’d always convinced North not to invite Jack. “An’ up until she was really invisible, Eostre was popular. Very personable woman she was.” He cleared his throat. “The others aren’t so keen to throw ‘er under the bus just yet. ‘Course it isn’t  _ their _ roles she’s stickin’ her bib in.”

“Uh-huh.” Jack idly froze one of the eggs tottering by. “Basically they’re going to wait and see if she ends up being a threat, is that it?”

“Yea. Which means I’m on my own.” Bunny glanced up, noticed what Jack was doing, and threw a clump of dirt at him. “Oy! Watch the eggs!”

Jack easily dodged the projectile. “What? It’ll stay fresh this way.” He stood up and walked aimlessly around the nearest tree, twirling his staff behind him and whistling. He then hooked the crook of his staff on a branch and swung himself up into the tree, leaning down and scooping up one of the eggs from his untouched pile.

“You gonna paint that or stare at it?” Bunnymund called, not looking up from his work.

“This is boring.” Jack tapped the egg with the end of his staff, freezing it like before, but this time there were designs carved into the ice that encased it. It was almost identical to the one he’d given Bunny for Christmas.

Bunny scowled down at the egg he was painting. “You don’t have to be here,” he snapped, perhaps for the hundredth time since Jack had volunteered to help him.

Jack shrugged at that and said nothing. One by one, he scooped eggs up from the pile, turning them into clever ice sculptures with the edible egg in the center. When he was done with his pile and after he’d made a nice mound of iced eggs, Jack flew up and over to where Bunnymund was sitting. Silently, a smirk spreading across his face, he blew hard against the back of Bunny’s neck.

“YEARRGH!” Bunnymund jumped up, causing his own neat pile of eggs to fall and roll away as he whipped around to face Jack. “You little—I’ll get you for that!”

“First you’ll have to catch me!” Jack’s voice filtered down on the breeze, already flipping up and away from his crime. He hooted as he flew off, Bunny whipping a boomerang at him before settling back down on the grass, grumbling under his breath. This, this was why he hadn't wanted any help – Jack was only getting in his way.

He glanced at the pile of iced eggs, and tried not to be impressed by the designs carved into their icy coverings. As big of a jokester as he was, Jack had a real artistic flair, and despite the fact that they were covered in ice rather than paint, they looked almost as good as some of Bunny's hand-painted eggs.

Physically shaking these thoughts away, he glared off in the direction Jack had gone. “Get back here you bleeder!” he yelled as he gathered up the eggs he’d painted, carefully placing them in a basket. “We’ve got to hide these googies!” He'd been trying not to think about it, but this was the real reason he'd accepted Jack's help; without his rabbit legs, he was nowhere near as fast as he used to be, and with his faded grasp of magic, he'd need to hide more eggs himself than usual. Judging by the smug look on Jack's face once he dropped down from the sky and back onto the grass, the winter spirit knew it, too.

“Now this is work I can get behind.” Jack took a second basket from Bunny and put his ice eggs inside it.

“Good, because we’ve got to hop to it, mate. Easter in Australia starts in less than a day, and I’ve got a lot of eggs to hide.” Carrying his basket, Bunnymund ran across the grass and leaped up onto an outcropping of rock. While he might not have been as graceful or as fast as he’d been with his rabbit legs, he was still pretty quick and light on his feet. From this vantage point, it was easy to look out over the Warren and watch the walking eggs paint themselves – which meant his grin fell when he saw that barely five hundred eggs were making their way through the hanging paintbells and into the river.

“No, no, no!” Bunny dropped from his perch, sprinting up the slope and gazing out over the field where his eggs grew. There were plenty available, but hardly any were coming over the hill. The basket he held nearly dropped from his limp fingers; he'd known that he wouldn't have as many eggs hiding themselves as he usually did, but this…

“That’s not good, is it?” Jack asked, landing gently next to him.

“There shouldn't be this many left behind,” Bunnymund replied, voice wavering slightly. His fists balled at his sides. “The Warren still doesn’t recognize me enough, I'd thought at least most of 'em--” He stopped, frowning as he looked at Jack. He tried very hard not to let on how his hands were trembling. “We’ll be hiding a lot more eggs ourselves than I thought.”

“Hiding eggs can’t be  _ that  _ hard,” Jack scoffed. Bunny’s nose twitched in irritation.

“We’ve got all of Australia to cover, mate.”

“So? We collected teeth from seven different continents. This’ll be a piece of cake.”

“There were  _ five _ of us then--”

Eager to begin, Jack ignored him and flew on ahead, starting to shepherd the remaining eggs over the crest of the hill. Bunnymund shook his head, but he joined in, nudging and pushing and sometimes even charging at the little eggs in order to get them moving. Eventually they had the lot of them running through the flowers and into the river to get themselves painted, though it took more herding still to keep the eggs on track and not let them wander off when Bunny’s weakened hold on them waned. 

When the lot of the eggs had been fully painted (and some stragglers chased back to the main herd), it became a matter of getting them through the tunnels and up to the surface. This was the more strenuous job; with so many tunnels, even if they were all headed to the same continent, Bunny had to run back and forth to keep the everything moving. There were plenty of times where the eggs stalled and milled about in the tunnels when Bunny was too far away, but as soon as he returned and shouted at them, they’d begin moving again. With Jack bringing up the rear and keeping eggs from turning back toward the Warren, Bunny led the tottering herds as best he could, pleading and coaxing with his googies to keep going.

This became harder the closer they got to the surface; this far from the Warren, what little grasp Bunnymund had over his magic faded nearly to nothing, and he ended up relying on more physical means to keep the eggs moving, often scooping up armfuls and carrying them ahead before running back to do it again. It was exhausting, and his uncomfortably smooth skin was beaded with sweat before long, but. With the bulk of the eggs at least in the tunnels, and close to where they needed to be, he could hide them all by hand if he needed to.

It would be a monumental task, almost more difficult than fighting Pitch’s nightmares the year before. Yet Bunny was determined. He’d hide all seven million of his eggs himself, if he had to.

When they finally hit the surface, Bunny beckoned Jack closer, putting a finger to his lips. Their first stop was a park in Sydney, a quiet place where there were only a few adults scattered about this late in the day; they were easy enough to avoid. While only children would be able to see the two of them, he didn't want to risk someone seeing an egg he'd placed and removing it. Basket in hand, Bunnymund crept out into the growing twilight, hurrying to the nearest bush so he could begin hiding the eggs. He picked three beauties from his basket and started pushing them between the spindly branches of the bush until his fingers brushed against something already settled there, and he stiffened.

With growing dread, his questing fingers mapped out what it was already hidden in the bush, and as Jack watched, Bunny slowly pulled out two painted eggs. They looked nothing like his – each had a candied shell painted with scenes of spring, depictions of budding flowers and sunny skies, like a miniature Kinkaide. The eggs slipped from Bunnymund’s numb fingers and rolled back under the bush.

“Looks like she got here first,” Jack said, coming forward and bending down to look at Eostre’s eggs.

“You think?!” Bunny said hoarsely. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, vision graying at the edges. He felt like he might pass out.

Jack, oblivious, straightened. “So what’s the plan?”

“We keep moving.” It took a moment for him to force the words out. Swallowing, Bunny clutched his basket protectively to his chest. For a moment he considered smashing the eggs Eostre had hidden, found himself staring at where they just peeked out from beneath the bush. In the end, he couldn't do it, even as they searched the park and found that every hiding place he would have used was already occupied by one of Eostre's little masterpieces.

So they kept moving. Wherever they broke the surface to hide Bunnymund’s eggs, they found Eostre had already been there. Her candied eggs – probably so sugary that Tooth would have an aneurysm if she ever saw one – were stuffed in gutters, under porches, and hidden in every other nook or cranny they came across. At their last stop in Sydney, Bunnymund threw his boomerang into the sky with a strangled cry of rage when they again found all of the hiding places taken by Eostre’s eggs.

“She’s fast,” Jack said admirably, looking up at the eggs wedged in the porch roof supports. “And clever.”

“So this is what she meant by a ‘fair chance’,” Bunnymund hissed under his breath. His hands shook at his sides; he didn't bother to hide it this time. “While I’m human my magic is weak as a wet whistle, which leaves her to come in and look like a bloody magician! No, this isn’t how it’s gonna end. We’ll just have to step up our game.” He tapped his foot on the ground, and nothing happened. No tunnel appeared. He stared at the ground, momentarily speechless.

“Well,” Jack said, twirling his staff, one corner of his lip curling upward. “Guess we'll have to fly.”

“No.” Bunny thumped his foot harder and still, nothing happened. “I'll get it – I can't – she can't cut me off from my bloody tunnels!” He slammed his foot down so hard something cracked, and he hissed in pain. It didn't stop him from raising his leg to try again.

“Whoa, hey, Bunny.” The twirling stopped, and Jack carefully came forward, looking up at Bunnymund with concern in his eyes. It was startling enough that Bunny's foot froze mid-stomp. “We're gonna win this. Okay?” He rested a hand on Bunny's arm, his pale skin a stark contrast against Bunny’s own dark brown. His touch was cool, too, and Bunny'd known that, had always known that, yet. It was more noticeable, now, without the fur.

Slowly, he let his foot drop to the ground, and took a deep breath.

“We're gonna win this,” Bunnymund agreed. “I just – she took my magic, Jack. This is almost worse than when Pitch – I was still a bunny. Still myself. Now I'm not anything.”

“C'mon, that's not true!” Without removing his hand, Jack poked him in the chest. “Don't give in so easily, Cottontail! Think of it like – well – could've been worse. She could've really made you a kangaroo.”

Despite the storm of emotions swirling inside him, Bunny found himself snorting and rolling his eyes. “Ya never get tired of that one, do ya.”

“Nope.”

Sighing, Bunnymund gently pulled away from Jack's touch. “Right. Fine. Yer right.” It was the closest thing to a 'thank you' he could manage, at the moment. “But we're still not flyin'.”

Jack's face shifted between several emotions so quickly Bunny couldn't read them, before finally settling on a grin. “Why not? It'll be faster.”

“You remember what happened  _ last _ time, don'tcha?”

“I only dropped you once!”

“Once is enough!” Bunny stomped to make his point, and this time, the ground dropped away to reveal an entrance to one of his tunnels. He gave a laugh, then, nearly hysterical in its relief, before grinning at Jack. “See? We don't need to fly.”

“I still think it'd be faster.”

The grin fell a notch as Bunny huffed and said, “Just get in the hole!” He dropped out of sight, and after a shake of his head, Jack followed.

The next time they resurfaced Bunnymund brought them up inside a house. Jack looked up at the older Guardian in confusion as they snuck out into the living room. Bunny again put a finger to his lips, this time accompanying it with a wink.

Jack, for once, mostly listened. “This is stepping up your game?” he whispered.

“If I hide some right in the house, the kiddiwinks will find mine before they find hers,” Bunnymund hissed back. “Now shh!” As they moved from room to room, he left several eggs where a child could easily find them, then gestured for Jack to follow him as he tiptoed up the stairs. They were halfway down the hall to the child’s bedroom when a door behind them opened with a creak. The two of them stopped and looked over their shoulders as a middle-aged woman emerged, yawning as she stepped out into the hallway. Bunnymund relaxed, and took another step forward. He'd have to be careful about how he placed the eggs, the same way he'd been in that Sydney park, but he didn't have to worry about being seen. Adults didn't believe, so he was invisible to them, as all the Guardians were. That was how it had always been.

Except—

“Hello? Who are you?” Bunnymund turned automatically, then stumbled back a step when he realized the woman was looking past Jack, and straight at him.

“Who are you?” the woman repeated. “How did you get in here? Honey!” She, too, stumbled back a step, and yelled into the open door of the bedroom she’d come from. “Natalie, wake up! There’s a strange man in the house!” As Bunnymund backed further down the hallway, willing her to stop looking him in the eyes like that, another woman appeared from the room. This one was armed with a baseball bat. His eyes widened, and he looked at Jack, who was frozen against the wall of the hallway, staring at Bunny with an expression mirroring his own. For the first time, their thoughts were in sync:

_ This can't be happening. _

“Bloody no-good tea-leaf!” Natalie yelled, pointing her bat at Bunny. “You won’t be nickin’ anything from us!”

“But I’m not—“ he said automatically, then yelped and sprinted down the hall when the bat-wielding woman suddenly charged him. Jack managed to gave him a few seconds by freezing the top of the carpet, sending Natalie careening into the wall. Bunnymund reached the end of the hall and realized there was nowhere to go, unless he felt like jumping out of the window or ducking into the room on his left; instead, he thumped his foot against the floor, and sent a silent prayer up to Manny when a hole appeared immediately. As the two women watched in growing confusion, he dove into his tunnels and left them behind.

He ran for longer than was necessary, as if the woman with the bat could have followed and would still be chasing him. Dodging down side tunnels, he ran until his chest ached and his breath came in pained spurts, before finally, finally, he stopped. Gingerly, he sat on the floor of the tunnel to catch his breath, surrounded by the herd of painted eggs they hadn’t hidden yet, legs crossed and hands on his knees as he wheezed.

Jack arrived a few moments later, settling himself on the floor across from Bunny. He didn't speak, merely watching Bunny with that same concern from before, waiting while his fellow Guardian recovered. Eventually, Bunny broke the silence.

“Crikey, that’s—that’s never happened to me before.” His fingers tangled themselves in his curly hair, body hunching. The eggs surrounding him shifted, some nestling against his legs.

“Maybe it’s because you’re human now,” Jack suggested, raising a hand before he let it fall back into his lap. “Maybe this is part of whatever Eostre did to you. Maybe making you human--maybe that’s why your magic’s all screwed up. It’s like you’re alive again.” There was a long pause, during which Bunny stared at the floor. When he looked up, his eyes were hard, his face twisting with rage. It was such a sudden change that Jack automatically pressed himself against the opposite wall of the tunnel.

“You’re right, mate,” Bunny said calmly, dangerously, his tone at odds with the fury etched into every feature of his face. His hands clenched tightly in his own hair, so hard that it was nearly painful. He didn't stop; it was nothing compared to the way his heart was constricting, to how it felt like someone had just plunged a knife into his chest. “She’s ruined me.” He stood, ignoring Jack's attempts at protesting that that wasn't what he said, and watched as the eggs that had been pressing against him scattered to avoid his feet. “And we’re gonna stop her. All of us, together, just like before. We’re going to deliver these googies. I don't care about cheatin' anymore, if this is what she's decided is a  _ fair chance _ . She doesn't get to – no. We're gettin' the others.  _ No one  _ is taking Easter from me again.” He grabbed the crook of Jack’s staff, yanking Jack off his feet.

“Let’s go.”

“And where are we going, exactly?” Jack hopped from wall to wall, keeping some distance as Bunnymund strode angrily down the tunnel. It added a touch of guilt to his rage, one which he ignored.

“To the Pole.”

“What about Tooth and Sandy?”

“North’s got his flashy lights to call ‘em up with. He’ll get the gang together for me.”

“What happens if they say no again?”

Bunny suddenly rounded on Jack, the tip of his boomerang nearly touching the skin between Jack’s eyes. The guilt spiked at the terror that flashed over Jack's face. “They won’t be sayin’ no, mate.”

“Okay, okay, yeesh.” Jack recovered with remarkable speed, and pushed the boomerang away with his staff. He tried for one of his usual grins and added, “You should’ve listened to Tooth and taken a vacation this year. Maybe then you’d learn how to relax.”

“I know how to relax just fine!”

“Says the guy who can’t chill out long enough to fly with me.”

“’Chill out’? Is that supposed to be funny?” But the wave of anger broke, somewhat, and Bunny couldn't help the way a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. How did Jack always manage to get past his defenses like that? “I did fly with you, and—“

“Sure you fell once, but only about ten feet, and I caught you before you hit the ground—“

“Yea, and you nearly ripped my tail off—“

“All right, so you won’t be flying anytime soon.” Jack jumped up in front of Bunny and started walking backwards, giving him another cheeky smile. “Just don’t write it off completely.”

“We’ll see.” With a sudden grin, Bunny increased his pace and pushed past Jack. “But only if you win.”

“Win what—?” Jack asked, but Bunny had already broken into a sprint and turned down one of the side tunnels. He glanced over his shoulder, still grinning, before disappearing around a corner.

“You are such a cheater!” Jack yelled. With a hoot of laughter, he took off after his fellow Guardian, surfing his staff along the ice path that formed before him, following Bunny's trail. And as they raced, each time Bunny glanced back to see that Jack was still following, still laughing, more of the anger and fear inside him chipped away.


	4. How Could You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnymund and Jack head to the Pole to get the other Guardians' help. It doesn't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO I am continuing to ride this wave of being able to finish a chapter every other day. helps that I had almost all of it written already |D 
> 
> hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of the previously-written stuff out within the next week, as with school starting I really want to take advantage of what motivation I've got while I have it.

They resurfaced inside the Pole, out of breath and laughing from their race. Bunnymund pulled himself out of the hole first, grinning as the nearby yetis exclaimed in surprise and stumbled backward. It was warm in here, cozy and comfortable, and he found himself incredibly grateful for that. He'd always avoided coming straight into the Pole, but now that he had, he was thinking he should do it more often, and skip out on bounding across frozen drifts of snow to get here.  _ Especially _ while he didn't have any fur to keep him from freezing.

“Even as a human I still beat you.” He stood up and watched as Jack flipped out of the hole on a gust of wind. “That’s pretty pathetic.”

“What’s pathetic is that you cheated!”

“I’m no cheater, mate.”

“Uh, you definitely are. Besides, that one didn’t count. I don’t know those tunnels as well as you do.”

“Sounds like a personal problem.” With a lazy smirk, Bunnymund scratched his stomach and stepped up to the nearest yeti. North must have relayed his own 'personal problem' to the Pole's workforce, because the yeti was merely watching him warily rather than beating him to a pulp and tossing him back out into the snow.

“Oy! North in his workshop?”

His response was something garbled in the yeti language Bunny had never bothered to learn, but the yeti nodded, and Bunny's expression sobered.

“Right. Thanks.” He started off, gesturing for Jack to follow. “Let’s go, frostbite.”

North came to the door after almost a minute worth of knocking – Bunny couldn’t hear any epic music so he doubted North was in the middle of any projects, and therefore irritated that it took the winter spirit so long to show up. It didn't help that North looked distracted, and when he opened the door, he quickly glanced over his shoulder before really focusing on them.

“Yes, what is it?” North took in Bunnymund and Jack, then beamed. “Ah, my friends! How are you being?”

“Lousy, now that you mention it.” Bunnymund pushed past North and into the workshop, ignoring his rotund friend’s protestations. He swept his gaze across the room. No, he definitely didn't see the inventive clutter of a new project, so what had taken North so long to answer? “How about yerself.”

“Good, I am doing good.” North grabbed at Jack, who was floating up near the ceiling trying to catch the flying ice sculptures North had. “Was there something you were needing?”

“Yea. I need your help to save Easter.”

“I did not know it needed saving.”

“Are you serious?” Bunny pivoted to face North and pointed at him. “Eostre’s showin’ me up at every turn! I need the Guardians, mate. With your help, and Tooth and Sandy’s, we can win yet.” He hopped up on North's chair, crouching like he would have as a rabbit. “Last year, when Tooth needed it, we gathered teeth all across the world. This year, I need the Guardians to do it again with my eggs.”

“Oh, ah, hrm.” North’s eyes danced from Jack still bobbing up near the ceiling to Bunnymund’s feet. “I do not know if I can help you, old friend. I am… ah… very busy.”

“What?” Bunny stared, incredulous. “What do you mean,  _ busy? _ ”

“Well, ah, as you know, Easter… is not Christmas. And I must be preparing—“

“No no no, you’re not pullin’ that again!” Bunnymund jumped down from the chair, stepping forward and jabbing his finger into North’s chest, teeth bared. “This isn’t a joke! You need to call Toothiana and Sandy  _ right now _ —“

“We’re already here, Bunny.”

All three of them looked back to the door, where Tooth fluttered and Sandy floated, both looking with concern at Bunnymund, who stepped back from North, confusion growing. Something was wrong, here; his ears flicked – or, they would have, if he'd still had them.

“What? Why?”

“Are you guys having a party?” Jack perched on the top of North’s ice car track. “Without me? I’m hurt.”

“Shut it,” Bunnymund hissed. He turned back to North, Tooth, and Sandy, who were all exchanging worried glances. “What’s going on? What happened?”

“Nothing, we were just…. visiting.” Tooth smiled a little too broadly, acting, if possible, more hyper than usual as she flitted forward. “Are you okay, Bunny? Ever since Eostre showed up you’ve been acting strange.”

“Strange? Are you  _ joking? _ My livelihood is at stake here!” He didn't like this one bit. The way they were looking at him, the pity in their eyes – his fists balled at his sides. “I can’t believe—“ He stopped, then stared at North, taking another few steps back toward where Jack still perched. “Is that what’s goin’ on? Are you all here to talk about me?”

“No, no, of course not!” North gave a shaky laugh. “Why would you be thinking that?” But he was looking at Sandy, who was shaking his head with a soft tinkling. Tooth was hovering nervously over Sandy’s head. Bunnymund clenched his teeth, trying to keep his breathing even. His friends, the ones who were supposed to help him, were instead looking at him like he might have a breakdown. He felt Jack’s hand on his shoulder and took a deep, shuddery breath.

“All right,  _ all right _ !” He took another breath. “Let’s all just calm down, yea? All I want is to take my holiday back, because  _ I'm _ the Easter Bunny, not her. Tooth, you understand, don’t you?” He gestured at Toothiana, his eyes pleading. “And you, North! You remember what it felt like, to not be believed in. When that little boy passed through me…” Bunnymund’s voice caught in his throat. Jack’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “I can’t do that again. I can’t—I  _ won’t _ feel that way again.” Bunnymund hissed as he tried to get his emotions under control. The cool touch on his shoulder acted like an anchor, keeping him grounded, and after a moment's struggle he smoothed his expression and stared his fellow Guardians down.

It seemed to work; North and Toothiana looked away, ashamed, while soothing images of a rabbit, eggs, and paintbrushes flashed over Sandy's head.

“That’s not going to happen,” Tooth said quietly, flitting in front of Bunny and taking his hands in hers.

“You know we will not be letting it,” North added.

“Yea, only ‘cause your belief disappears as mine does,” Bunnymund said, but his tone lacked any ice. North's lips curved with a small smile, which before long broadened into a grin when Bunny didn't pull away from Tooth's hold of his hands. He threw his arms wide and came forward, and by the time Bunny realized what was going to happen and tried to pull back, it was too late.

“North, don't you dare--!”

“What good friends we are having!” North exclaimed, grabbing both Tooth and Bunny in one motion and pulling them into a nearly back-breaking hug. Bunny heard the yelp of Jack being grabbed with North's other arm, and Sandy must have wiggled his way in because he appeared in the middle of it all, smiling broadly up at Bunny. There was a moment where the four of them hung suspended in the air, North lifting them clean off the floor, he and Tooth laughing while Bunny couldn't completely keep a smile hidden.

He met Jack's gaze, who gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes that was undermined by his grin, and Bunny's smile grew.

When North finally released them and Bunny's feet found solid ground, he groaned and arched, cracking his back. “I swear one a these days you're gonna break me in half,” he complained, without any of the anger of before. The atmosphere had shifted, and he began to relax. 

Whatever reason Tooth and Sandy were here, and North so hesitant to help, he knew he could convince them. They were his friends, his fellow Guardians, and he could trust them to be there for him when he needed them most.

And then Eostre walked into the room.

Bunnymund turned toward the door just in time to see her make her entrance. When she noticed him, she beamed.

“Oh, so you’ve talked to him? That’s great!” She clapped her hands together. “I'm so glad, I was worried he'd be mad, but it looks like--” She stopped, then, really noticing the way everyone was looking at her, and her smile fell.

“What is  _ she _ doing here?” Bunnymund backed away from his friends, anger and betrayal warring for dominance of his expression. It felt like the ground was falling away underneath him, like a tunnel had opened up without his consent, and there was nothing he could do but drop into the darkness.

North stepped forward. “Bunny, is not what you think—“

“Oh, it looks  _ exactly _ like what I think.” He jabbed an accusative finger at Eostre. “Yer all makin’ nice with the woman who’s trying to get rid o’ me! That's, that's why you won't help me, isn't it! You all  _ want _ her to take my place!”

“Bunny, that’s not—“ Tooth interjected.

“Oh no, no bloody way am I goin' to stand here and listen to you  _ lie to me _ again!” Tooth flinched back, and Bunny realized he was shouting; he couldn't bring himself to stop. “You won't help me?  _ Fine. _ Then I'll do it my own damn self!”

Tooth deflated more, and guilt spiked through the anger. He ignored it. He ignored all of it, Sandman's frantically flashing explanations, North's pleading of  _ if you will just be sitting, Bunny, we can talk about this-- _ , the painfully, pathetically sympathetic look Eostre was giving him. And then there was Jack, who stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth open.

Well. At least they  _ all _ hadn't betrayed him.

“Get out of my way.” Gruffly, Bunny pushed through them, smacking his shoulder against Eostre's as he stormed out. The little “oh!” she gave filled him with a dark satisfaction that quickly soured, and he hurried out of the Pole, ignoring the stares of the yetis as he went.

When he reached the entrance, the cold air hit him like a blast, and he had to lean against the door to acclimate himself for a few moments. A part of him said he should go back, to talk with them; after five hundred years, they couldn't have truly turned on him so quickly and so easily. Maybe there was some merit to whatever it was they had to say. Maybe, if he only listened, he could understand why they did what they did, why they sided with Eostre against him…

Gritting his teeth, he pressed forward into the icy chill of the Pole. His bare feet soon became numb as he trudged through the snow, and he wrapped his arms over his chest to try and retain some warmth. The only thing that kept him going despite the sting of frigid air whipping against him was the burning rage in his gut. Maybe the others  _ did _ have their reasons for this – but it wouldn't be enough. They'd never trusted him, never believed in him. Even if he’d been wrong about Jack’s merit as a Guardian, Jack himself had agreed at the time! And he’d proven to be trouble, hadn’t he, when he’d gone after his teeth and let the Nightmares destroy Bunny’s eggs? And with that in mind - what if he was in on it, too? What if he’d only been pretending to help, to give the other Guardians time to work with Eostre, so they could make sure Bunny lost and she became the spirit of Spring again--

But.

Bunny remembered the look on Jack's face. The naked shock. His fingers dug into his biceps, head lowering as wind tore at his curls. No, Jack couldn’t have known. Jack was the  _ only _ one who couldn’t have known, who hadn't been working with Eostre behind his back. Who'd actually tried to help him.

“B-Bugger.” Teeth chattering, he stopped and glanced back at North's palace. He couldn't bring himself to go back. He'd have to send a message to Jack once he returned to the Warren, invite him to come up with a new gameplan, if Jack was still willing to help. He hoped so; with the others on Eostre's side, Bunny needed all the help he could get. And Jack did enjoy a challenge.

He stamped his foot on the ground to open a tunnel, and swore when nothing happened. He was shivering badly, and without fur to protect him, he knew he needed to get out of the cold as soon as possible. If adults could see him, there was no telling how far his new 'humanity' went, and he'd rather not die (again).

Yet another thump and still nothing. Growing frustrated, he slammed his foot down a third time, only to yelp out an “ _ Oh scroot! _ ” when he found his feet flying out from under him.

The top layer of snow had hidden an icy patch that had him falling on his back, and it didn't stop there. His momentum carried him down a small slope, with nothing around him but more snow and more ice, nothing for his clawing hands to grab for purchase. He slid until the ground dropped out from beneath him and, yelling, he finally shot off a hidden edge and into a crevice in the ice.

 


	5. Heart To Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnymund's stormed off, and the Guardians convince Jack to go talk to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the Trope Chapter, don't mind me. warnings for someone experiencing hypothermia, I don't go in-depth but just in case!

“This was probably the  _ worst _ thing you guys could’ve done.” Jack stepped off the ice track onto the table, then to the floor. He twisted his staff in his hands and pointed it at Eostre, mouth set in a hard line. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t freeze you where you stand.”

Following Bunnymund’s departure, she'd wrapped her arms around herself and curled forward. At Jack's question, she flinched, yet didn't straighten, sighing instead. “I don’t have one.”

“No, Jack, wait!” Tooth flew in front of Eostre, blocking her from Jack’s view. The feathers on her head fluffed up in distress, arms thrust forward as if she could shield any ice magic he sent her way with only her hands. “She came here to apologize! If Bunny would just hear her out, he’d understand!”

“You thought you’d just bring her here and Cottontail would be fine with it?” Jack scoffed. He looked at each of the Guardians in turn. “You didn’t really think this through, did you?”

“Is not my best plan,” North admitted.

“You've got that right.” Jack's eyes locked onto Eostre's, where she was peeking out from behind Tooth. He lowered his staff, though his expression remained stony. “And what do you suggest we do now? He won’t trust any of you for a long time, you know that right?”

“We know.” Toothiana shared a look with Sandy and North, the three of them coming to some silent agreement while Eostre looked on. Then the remaining Guardians, as one, turned to Jack.

Tooth flew a few feet forward, feathers rustling along her body. “But maybe you could…?”

“Have a heart to heart with him?” Jack laughed. It was a sharp sound, without humor. He couldn't imagine how they'd all survived for so long, being this trusting, this naive. He wondered how Bunny could've stood it. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“He’s closer to you than he is any of us.” Tooth looked almost jealous. It was impossible to tell if she was jealous of Bunnymund, or him. “He’ll listen to you.”

“I just want a chance to explain,” Eostre said. She stepped out from behind Tooth fully, hands up in a pleading gesture. “If he’d just give me a chance—“

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. “You  _ turned him into a human _ , and you expect him to ‘give you a chance’? When we were trying to hide eggs, adults saw him. Did you know that? Some adults  _ saw him. _ Like he wasn't a spirit at all, like he was any other human.” Eostre's golden skin paled; she hadn't, Jack noticed, realized that was a side effect. He remembered how distraught Bunny had been, and hardened himself against the guilt etched into her features. What she felt didn't matter. “So maybe you should think about that, before you start asking for second chances.”

“Jack...” Tooth glanced back at Eostre, then at Jack. “Please. He can't run off like that alone, he could get hurt.”

Jack wanted to say that it would be Eostre's fault, and he'd make her pay for it. Instead, he heard himself reply, “Okay, fine, I’ll talk to him.”

Tooth immediately smiled, while Eostre, stepping forward to rest a hand on her elbow, started to regain some color to her cheeks. Jack frowned, and added, “While I’m gone, you all need to work on what you're going to say to him so that he might, one day, forgive you. And  _ you _ —“ He jabbed his staff in Eostre’s direction. “If I bring him back here and you even  _ look  _ at him wrong, I’ll freeze you solid faster than you can say ‘I’m sorry’. Got it?”

She swallowed, then pulled herself out of her timid curl and looked him in the eyes. “Yes, yes, I understand.”

“You will put some sense in him, Jack,” North said. “I feel it in my belly.”

“Oh, I will. Whether that means he comes back here is a different matter.” Jack turned away, stalking out the door and keeping an eye on Eostre all the while.

He left the four of them behind, following the same route Bunny would have taken to leave the palace, grinning and shooting fingerguns at Phil the yeti as he passed, though his heart wasn't in it. Sure, maybe this Eostre chick was some old friend of theirs, but the way North, Tooth, and Sandy had gone about this was just. Bad. Worry curled in his gut; despite what he'd said, he didn't think he'd have any sway over Bunny's mood when the spring spirit was like this. He didn't know why Tooth had insisted he was closer to Bunny than the rest; Bunny had hated him for  _ years _ , and last year’s events aside, Jack was pretty certain that currently Bunny only mostly tolerated him.

Even if Jack kept coming to the Warren because he couldn't keep that moment from the year before out of his head. The moment when a diminished Bunny, upon finding out Jack had kept Jamie believing in him, had looked at Jack in a way that made him feel like he was floating.

So they were probably wrong. Still, Jack had said he'd talk to Bunny, and he planned to. If Bunny didn't want to come back...they could go to the Warren. Or Burgess. There was plenty of room for Bunny there; they could find him some burrow to stay in, where he'd be warm even in the frigid winters that gripped Jack's hometown.

If Bunny couldn't win, he could stay with Jack.

When he found himself outside, Jack grinned up at the stark sunlight, letting the wind pull at his clothes and his hair, loving the tiny particles of ice that whipped up around his body. It cleared some of the fog in his mind, the delirious fantasies where he kept Bunny in Burgess and they could hang out with Jamie and his friends and not worry about the Guardians. Those thoughts slipped away in the comforting gusts surrounding him, and he reached out with a hand, letting the currents weave around his palm.

He couldn't enjoy it for too long; he still had to find Bunny. Crouching, Jack pushed off of the snow and launched himself into the air, letting out a breathless laugh, a grin stretching so widely from ear to ear it made his face hurt. He could never get tired of flying, not even in those moments when he'd felt like his entire world was crashing down around his ears.

Or so he'd thought. Shooting over the landscape, searching the immediate vicinity of the palace, Jack couldn't find Bunny at all. With how his magic had been, Jack assumed Bunny would end up against a wall of the Pole, huddled against the wind while he angrily stomped at the ground for a tunnel to open up. Except Jack couldn't spot him anywhere. He searched a bit longer, then decided Bunny must have been able to open a tunnel after all, and had run off toward the Warren. Fine; he'd talk to Bunny there. Feeling the shifting of the wind around his body, he began to position himself to rocket away from the Pole, when---

There was a crevice beneath him, sharp, angular walls a contrasting black against the shimmering white landscape. It was a normal enough sight up here, when one could fly above the topography and get a better look. What caught his attention was a small dark blob at the bottom of the crevice. It didn't look like a rock, and as Jack turned into the wind, letting himself spiral in slow arcs toward the ground, the shape began to solidify into something recognizable.

It definitely wasn't a rock. Jack's heart pounded in his ears as he changed his angle of descent, dropping toward the ground like a blue and white bullet.

“Hey, Cottontail!” Slipping right through the edges of the crevice, Jack landed heavily in the snow. The walls seemed to close around him, reminding him of where he'd landed when Pitch had thrown him all those months ago, but he shook it off. Bunnymund was here, shivering violently, curled up in a corner, and the sight of him drove all thoughts of Pitch from Jack's mind. His skin was pale and, when Jack finally came close enough to put a hand on his arm, cold.

That, more than anything else, alarmed Jack so much he dropped to his knees in front of Bunny. Jack was always cold, it was part of his powers, his  _ being _ ; in contrast, Bunnymund's skin and fur had always felt like fire beneath Jack's fingertips, like an inferno that would burn him up if he wasn't careful, yet enticed him to see if it would. Now...it almost made Jack shiver. He thought of when he'd fallen through the ice, how the cold of the water beneath had enveloped him like a tomb.

They weren't in water now, but in his current state, Jack had a feeling that if he didn't do something, Bunny could very well die.

“Cottontail. Bunnymund! Wake up!” Jack leaned close to Bunny's face, shouting over the wind that whistled past the edges of the crevice. Bunny didn't seem to hear him; his eyes were glazed, knees bent up against his chest. He wouldn't stop shivering. “Bunny! GET UP!”

He took Bunny by the shoulders and shook him, hard. Nothing happened; if anything, Bunny seemed to list into his grip, until Jack had to get an arm around his shoulders to keep him from falling over completely. It wasn't working, it wasn't working and Bunny was so  _ cold _ , he couldn't let him fall asleep, Jack had seen hypothermia before, he  _ knew _ what would happen if Bunny fell asleep.

In his panic, Jack didn't think about how he could grab Bunny and fly back to the Pole. All he thought about was keeping Bunny awake. And, and if he could surprise Bunny enough…

With one arm wrapped around Bunny's back, Jack pulled the spring spirit closer and hooked a hand around the nape of Bunny's neck. He didn't let himself wait long enough to get an up close look at how glassy Bunny's expression had become. He threw caution to, well, the Wind, letting her take it up and away from him, as he leaned in and pressed his lips hard against Bunny's.

And, somehow....it worked.

“Mmnn… J-Jack?” Bunnymund stammered. He was still leaning heavily against Jack, but he was able to pull back enough to meet Jack's gaze. There was a flicker of life in his eyes that had Jack warming from his core. “What’re y-y-you d-doing here?”

“I’m saving your furry butt, that’s what I’m doing.” Jack laughed with relief, a few drops of water freezing on his cheeks. “Damn, Cottontail, I thought you were dead! I thought–!” Another laugh burst from his throat as he tightened his hold around Bunny, pulling him into a hug and ignoring the surprised grunt Bunny gave. “You were so cold, and you wouldn’t wake up, and—but you're alive. So it's fine!”

“Right.” When Jack pulled back, Bunnymund was giving him a very confused, slightly faraway look. He put his fingers to his lips and frowned. “D-Did you…?”

“Yeah, yeah I did.” Again, Jack was laughing; he couldn't seem to stop. His fingers dug into the skin of Bunny's back as he pressed their foreheads together. “Couldn't really think of anything else to--”

He gave a surprised  _ 'mmf!' _ noise when Bunny cut him off with another kiss, hands clutching at Jack's face. Where Bunny was cold, this kiss was warm, nearing the levels of heat Jack was used to. He pressed closer, teeth dragging at Bunny's lip. He hooked a hand around the belt that Bunny kept his boomerangs and egg bombs in. That feeling of floating returned, even though he knew he was sitting firmly on the ground. It was like flying without the Wind, and he could have kept indulging in it for a while yet, if Bunny hadn't shivered so severely his teeth knocked against Jack's.

“Ow.” Jack finally let go, pulling back and pressing his fingertips to his front teeth. He could feel he was grinning; it wasn't the right place, or the right time. He still couldn't bring himself to stop. “Uh. Come on, we should get you back before you really  _ do  _ die.”

Standing, he offered his hand, and after a moment of staring at it Bunny reached out to take it.  When he pulled himself to his feet, he leaned heavily against Jack, who struggled a bit under the solid weight of him. “Right, I think...think I can walk, if we take it slow.”

“Walk? Oh, no, we're going to fly.” Jack beamed in the face of Bunny's shock. “You're too weak to walk, and it'll take too long.”

“Now, hold on just a minute--!”

“Can't, sorry!”

With a powerful push of his legs, Jack kept his tight grip on Bunny as they launched out of the crevice and up above the snow. Bunny clung to his neck, legs wrapping around him and eyes so wide they looked like they might pop out of his head. Jack laughed and shifted in the air, aiming them for the Pole.

“Relax, we're almost there!”

“H-How’m I supposed to r-r-relax when I’m gonna f-fall to my bloody death!” Bunny cried over the wind. Jack laughed again and pressed his lips to Bunnymund’s cheek.

“That’s not reassuring!” Bunny yelled, though his cheeks darkened, and he stopped flailing as much.

Jack had, thankfully, been right, and it didn't take them long at all to return to the Pole. As soon as he landed Bunny sagged in his grip and Jack had to practically pull him through the front door. When it closed behind them, Bunny slid from Jack's grasp and fell in a heap to the floor.

“Bunny!” Jack crouched by his side, leaning over him, hands hovering uselessly. He paid no attention to the shaky, dismissive wave Bunny gave him. Jack’s mind was racing; he'd taken too long, Bunny wasn't going to recover, he shouldn't have let that second kiss happen-- “Get some blankets,” he snapped at the gathering crowd of yetis. “And get North!  _ North! _ We need you!”

North appeared almost instantly, shooing elves out of his way as he hurried over to where Jack remained bent over a shuddering Bunnymund.

“Bunny! What has happened! Are you alright?” North asked. His concern made his usually loud voice into a bellow, and Bunny flinched.

“D-Do I look all right to you, m-mate?”

“He’s got hypothermia,” Jack explained. He took the blankets the yetis were bringing and began to slowly wrap them around Bunnymund's trunk, one at a time. Luckily for everyone, Bunny’s pants weren’t damp, which meant nobody would be forced to strip him. Working together, and ignoring Bunny's stammered protests, North and Jack slowly encased him in blankets until he was completely swaddled, with only his head showing.

“C-Crikey you t-t-two,” Bunnymund chattered. “I look like a n-n-newborn b-babe!” They continued to ignore him and picked him up together, Jack taking his head and North the feet. They carried the struggling Bunny into North’s workshop, setting him up in a chair several feet from the fire, North stepping away to get Bunny some cocoa while Jack took up a perch on his staff beside Bunny's chair. He kept throwing glances back at Eostre, who was standing awkwardly behind North's worktable, and had been since they'd come in. Bunny stared stubbornly into the fireplace and refused to acknowledge her presence in any way.

“Where are Tooth and Sandy?” Jack asked when North returned with a steaming mug. It took Bunny a minute to free his hands enough to hold it.

“They had to leave. ‘Not everyone only is working one day a year’,” North mimicked in a high effeminate voice. “Is only us now.”

“G-Great, so we’re stuck here with the  _ new _ Easter Guardian,” Bunny said sarcastically.

“Bunny—“

“No, no, he has every right to be angry.” Eostre stepped out from behind the table, chewing her lip nervously. She skirted around Jack, who watched her intently, coming down from his perch to stand closer to Bunny's chair. “Aster...I’m not trying to steal Easter from you.”

Bunnymund huffed. “Coulda fooled me.” North gave him a gently admonishing look, and his cheeks darkened.

“I’m  _ serious _ .” Eostre sighed. “I’m not trying to take your holiday because I’m not taking credit for all of the eggs I hid. Children are going to think that  _ you _ made those eggs.” Jack stared in disbelief, while Bunnymund, though hampered by his cocoon of blankets, twisted in his chair to finally look her in the face.

“Yer pullin’ my tail.”

“I never planned on replacing you. I wanted to get Manny’s attention, and I did.” She gave him a small smile. “He wasn’t about to let me usurp you like that! We had a long talk and I finally convinced him I didn’t mean any harm. I was just… desperate.”

Bunny’s brows were knit. “Go on.”

Eostre took a deep breath. “Manny’s agreed to give me some of my old duties back. Instead of sitting alone in my glade, he’s tasked me with bringing Spring again. Just think of me as the Jack Frost to your North.”

Jack bristled slightly at the comparison –  _ he'd  _ never tried to compete with North for Christmas, no matter how many times he’d attempted to break into the Pole – while Bunnymund watched her for a moment, grinding his teeth as he thought it over. Finally, he looked to North.

“And you lot believe her?”

“Yes. She is telling truth.” North winked at Eostre. “Man in Moon confirmed it.”

Bunny turned to Jack next, searching his face, and Jack hid a jolt of surprise behind a shrug.

“She sounds sincere. If Manny said she's okay, then. She must be. Or he'd warn us like he did with Pitch.”

Bunny scowled, a muscle working in his jaw, before finally he rolled his eyes and slumped. “Alright, alright! So Eostre's not out to get me.” He squinted at her, and Jack had to hide a laugh with a fake cough; Bunny trying to be intimidating was unintentionally hilarious, considering he was currently a blanket burrito.

“Crikey, then, Eostre, why'd you turn me human!”

“I told you, I wanted a fair chance! You know as well as I do that no one can compete with you when you’re yourself.”

Despite the situation, Bunnymund mouth twitched up into a grin at that, though it immediately dropped in favor of a sharp look North’s way when the latter whispered loudly, “I am begging to differ.”

“Right, well. Right. Guess I can see why you’d do it that way. An’ now that we’ve got that all figured out.” Bunnymund turned his attention back to his cocoa to take a sip, then yawned, covering his mouth with a hand. “I’m knackered. If you could just turn me back—“

“That’s the problem,” Eostre interrupted, hesitantly. “I can’t turn you back.”

Bunny’s head whipped around so fast his neck cracked like a gunshot. “Come again?”

“That spell took a lot of preparation, and as far as I know I can’t reverse it.” Eostre looked at him sheepishly, guilt creasing her brow. “You just... have to wait for it to wear off. And not go out among humans until it does, in case you're seen again...?”

North, Jack, and Eostre all flinched back as Bunnymund's shouted “ _ WHAT?! _ ” shook the rafters and shattered several of North's magical ice sculptures. No amount of apologies from Eostre, or consolation from Jack and North, could calm him down, until eventually Eostre meekly excused herself and left. Jack watched her go, still patting a panicking Bunny's arm.

It took him a bit longer to calm down, and once his breathing had reached not-quite-hyperventilating, North pointedly checked his watch.

“So, Bunny, is seeming like you only need wait it out. Good thing Easter is being over, no?” With barely a grunt, North lifted Bunny out of the chair and, seemingly unperturbed by the resulting flailing, deposited Bunny on his feet, blankets and all. “Is time you be going. Listen to Toothy, take vacation! I am sure you will be yourself in no time.”

“Wait, but--”

“La la la! I am having much work to do, no more time for my best friends!” Turning his back on them, North retreated into his workshop and shut the door behind him, leaving a spluttering Bunnymund in his wake. Jack shook his head, a small smile curling his lip.

“Come on, Cottontail. Looks like we’ve been excused.” Grabbing Bunny by what he was  _ pretty sure  _ was an elbow, Jack steered Bunny past the yetis, letting the spring spirit grumble to himself under his breath without commenting on it. The treatment for his hypothermia seemed to work, at least, as he was no longer shivering in the toasty air of the Pole, and he started shedding blankets as they went, tossing them at whatever yetis were nearby. One blanket hit a neatly stacked pile of freshly-painted RC cars, knocking the entire thing onto the floor, and the yeti working there went rigid for a moment, then slowly bent forward and pressed his forehead to the tabletop.

“Oh scroot, what am I gonna do?” Bunnymund pulled at his hair as they walked. Freed of his blanket prison, his skin was more like its normal warm brown, and the few times Jack let himself brush against his fellow Guardian, he could feel that familiar heat radiating from Bunny's body. “I can’t just sit around and wait to turn back to normal!”

“What are you so stressed out about? Eostre’s done your job for you this year, and you’ve got twelve more months before you have to worry about Easter again.” Jack put his arm around Bunnymund’s shoulders and squeezed. “North’s right – you’re too anxious. Why don’t you just take some down time and relax for once?”

Bunny stared at Jack, face scrunched like he was waiting for the punchline, and then scrubbed at the back of his neck. “Yea, I, I guess I could do that,” he said finally. “I need time anyway to reconnect with the Warren.” He let out a deep breath, shoulders sagging.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“...Nothing.” Bunnymund thumped his foot on the ground and, much to his joyful surprise, a tunnel appeared instantly. “It...it worked,” he breathed, eyes shining. He went to jump in, but Jack grabbed his arm before he could, and met Bunny's questioning glance with a mischievous grin.

“Oh no, this time we're doing it my way.” Twirling his staff, he used Bunny's surprise to his advantage, tugging him closer. “You got to cheat last time; now it's my turn.”

“I told you I'm no cheataAAAHHHH!”

Letting out a whoop of laughter, Jack fell forward, dragging a screaming Bunnymund with him. As they fell into the darkness of the tunnels, the hole disappeared behind them, leaving nothing but a lone daisy on the floor of North's workshop.

 


	6. Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Bunny is still a human, but this shift in his relationship with Jack almost makes that okay. 
> 
> Until it doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp that roll didn't carry me fully through the rest of the fic, but I figured as much, considering school and all. also, after this chapter I'm not rewriting the old fic anymore, so the last three will be from scratch. hopefully it won't take me too long to get the next one up!

“Hang on!” Jack cried, still laughing as they fell into the dim warmth of the tunnels. Using the staff like a surfboard, the two rocketed along the grassy floors and walls, Jack stopping his weaving just short of doing loop-de-loops. Bunnymund, clutching Jack so hard his fingers dug into Jack's ribcage, alternated between yelling in terror and yelling directions.

“Left! Left! Take a left!” he shouted in Jack’s ear. Jack smirked and allowed himself one loop around the ceiling of the tunnel, then swung down an offshoot tunnel on his left. He could see the bright sunlight of the Warren straight ahead of them, and he shot toward it, emerging onto a warm spring day. He decreased their speed and changed his angle, so when they landed the two of them tumbled off of the staff together and onto the soft grass .

“Maybe that was...kinda fun.” Bunnymund sat up, brushing bits of grass and dirt off of himself.

“It was a  _ lot  _ of fun.” Jack laughed and jumped up onto the top of his upright staff. “See, this is why you should let me take you flying more often! I knew you'd love it.”

“That don't count as flying!”

“Sure it does! If it's the height that's bothering you, we'll just stay close to the ground. Or maybe a lake – I can show you how just the touch of my staff will start the whole thing freezing over--”

Jack had his back turned to Bunny, waving his staff in the air in a grand gesture, but he stopped and looked back at his fellow Guardian. Bunny wasn't looking at him, gaze unfocused off to his left, arms wrapped around his knees as he stared vacantly at nothing.

“Hey, Cottontail.” A gust of wind carried Jack over the short distance between them so that he could flop down onto the grass beside Bunny. “What's wrong?”

“I...” Bunny huffed, and dragged his hands down his face, trying to hide the way his cheeks burned. It was so ridiculous. And now that he was breaking out of the fog of shock after his ordeal, he was very, very angry. “They just...let her back in. Like it was nothin'. Like she didn't use some bloody spell on me that made me so human  _ adults  _ could see me. An' she can't even turn me back, an' they didn't--!” He slumped, voice going quiet.

“They didn't even care.”

Jack studied his face, then carefully shifted closer to press their shoulders together.

“I don't think that's it,” he said, trying to catch Bunny's eye. Bunny continued staring at the ground. “I think they care  _ too much _ . They had this idea in their heads that, that since Eostre isn't like Pitch, she couldn't be bad, so her apologizing was enough for them.”

“Well it's not bloody enough for me!” The shout startled Jack, who jumped, and Bunny sheepishly muttered a 'sorry' under his breath. “It's not—it's not enough for me. It's because she didn't go after them, that's what it is. It's just ol' Bunnymund, just Easter, Easter's not Christmas, it's only one day a year it doesn't matter the way they do!” He was growing close to hysterical, and it was the arm Jack slid around his shoulders that brought him back, chest heaving as he tried to calm down.

“She could've—bugger, she  _ could've _ been like Pitch. Bein' alone for all them years, hiding the way she did, it does things to ya--”

“I know,” Jack agreed softly, and Bunny's stomach lurched.

“I—yer different,” he amended quickly. “I'm just sayin'...she could be pulling all our tails, that's all.”

“None of us have tails right now,” Jack pointed out.

“You know what I meant! And what about Tooth!”

“Mm, fair point.” Jack slotted himself against Bunny's side, his arm dropping from Bunny's shoulder to curl around his waist. Even with the fancy hoodie Jack was cool against Bunny's skin, the way he always had been; it was oddly comforting. “You're right, though. The others are too trusting. Pitch was obviously evil, but if Eostre’s got something up her sleeve, she’s a lot less upfront about it. She could turn on us at any time. And if she does...well. We'll beat her. You and me. _ You’re  _ the Guardian, not her. And I won't let her take that away from you, got it?”

Bunny's expression shifted when he looked at Jack, his eyes soft, a tentatively grateful smile curving his lips. Something in Jack's face changed, but he didn't really notice it just then.

“Thanks, Fro—Jack. Thank you.”

“Don't mention it. Besides, it was pretty fun, saving your furry butt.” Jack grinned, and Bunny rolled his eyes. Pulling away from Jack, he stood up, brushing the rest of the grass and debris from his pants. It didn’t help much, as they’d become rather filthy from his recent adventures..

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Why not?” Jack easily flipped himself up onto the top of his staff, perching on its hooked curve and smirking down at Bunnymund. “If you pretend to be dying I could do it again.”

“Not happenin’.” Bunny mirrored Jack's expression, then kicked Jack’s staff out from underneath him. Jack, surprised, fell with a yelp right into Bunny’s waiting arms.

“I like it better this way,” Bunny said, tilting Jack back like a ballroom dancer.

“I guess I could get used to this,” Jack returned with a grin. “And this.” Wrapping his arms around the other Guardian’s neck, Jack brought Bunny’s lips to his.

Kissing was an experience Bunnymund had long forgotten about. Having been a Guardian for five hundred odd years, and dead for longer than that, he hadn’t done this in centuries – not until Jack kissed him in that crevice, anyway. Kissing like this, in the safety of the Warren, the coolness of Jack's skin and lips pleasant against the warmth of Bunny's, was much, much better. Bunny's heart pounded in his ears, surging like the rush of bounding through his tunnels alongside his herds of eggs.

When they pulled back, Jack's eyelids fluttered, lips reddened and curled up at the corners. “I could  _ definitely _ get used to that.”

“If you behave,” Bunny purred, “You just might get the chance.”

For the next few days, things went about as smoothly as they could. The low buzz of fear in the back of Bunny's head grew stronger as time passed and he stayed human, but with Jack visiting more and more often, it helped keep his mind off of it – and keep him from tracking down Eostre and shaking her until she found a way to break the spell. Jack always seemed to know when he needed it most, too, when the anger would start bubbling up after he forgot he couldn't jump as high or run as fast, when he was this close to just  _ snapping _ – it was always then that Jack would throw a snowball at him, or crack a joke, or sneak up and blow icy air in his ear. They were the tricks Jack had always played around Bunny, combined now with how he'd throw in a peck on the cheek every so often. Despite himself, Bunny wouldn't be able to keep up the sour mood when Jack did that.

And if he  _ really _ needed a distraction....well, neither he nor Jack had kissed anyone in years. They had a lot of practicing to do.

But that couldn't last forever, and of course things changed when he least expected them to.

It hadn’t been quite a week since Bunny’s near death, and he was still human, but Bunny was in one of his better moods. Jack was playing pranks on the stone guardians, laughing as they ambled irritably after him, while Bunnymund crouched atop a small hill, smirking and shaking his head. He really ought to tell Jack off, that the last time he'd played around with the guardians like this they'd been dizzy for hours, yet...Jack was having a lot of fun, and he suspected the guardians were, too. Bunny certainly never played with them like this.

He was content to sit like that for a bit longer, giving Jack more time to have his mischief before telling him off, when a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. Groaning, Bunny tried to stand and stumbled, nearly falling off the hill he'd been crouching on.

Almost immediately, the atmosphere in the Warren changed. A chill wind blew across the valley, prickling along his skin, and Jack stopped mid-air as the stone guardians all turned their faces toward Bunny as one.

“Cottontail? What's wrong?”

“I...” Bunny's breath came in a harsh wheeze, fingers curling in his hair as if he could rip his own head off. The dizziness was growing worse, accompanied by a deep ache that spread from his bones outward. He barely registered that he'd stumbled again until he felt something cool and firm pressing against him, holding him up. The realization was sluggish: Jack had stopped him from falling over.

“Hey, Cottontail—Bunnymund. Talk to me.” Jack couldn't keep the worry from his voice. Bunny tried to look at him, to focus on his face, but those pale features swam in his vision. The wind had started to pick up, swirling around the both of them.

Bunny clutched at Jack's hoodie, keeping him close. “I don't know,” he managed. “I don't—do you think--!?”

Whatever else he might have said was snatched from his lips; the wind had strengthened into a gale, whipping around the two of them, robbing Bunny of any coherent thought. Jack yelled something, maybe Bunny's name, he couldn't hear it, all he could do was hang on to Jack as the whirlwind lifted them from the ground, as it tore at his pants and his hair, his boomerangs and egg bombs smacking painfully against his bare skin.

And then, as quickly as it had arrived, the wind was gone. Bunny's vision barely had time to clear before he felt the both of them falling back to earth without the wind to hold them aloft, and Jack’s yelp and the way he clutched at Bunny made it clear he was too startled to try and fly. It was only a few feet (he hoped, he didn't know, how high had they risen?) but Bunny wrapped his arms around Jack and rolled backward in midair, so that when they landed, it was he who hit the dirt first, taking the brunt of the impact and keeping Jack from suffering more than minimal damage. Obviously it wasn't a pleasant landing, the force of it driving the wind from his lungs, leaving Bunny gasping and wheezing just as much as he had when the dizziness and pain first hit him.

Jack pushed himself up with a groan, a hand to his head. “You okay? What was that, what  _ happened _ \--” He suddenly froze, stopping mid-sentence, eyes wide as he stared down at Bunny.

“Wh...What?” Bunny coughed, and sucked in a deep lungful of air. His nose twitched. “Crikey, what're... you lookin' at me... like that for?”

“You’re… you!” Jack's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “You're you, you're...you're a bunny again, the spell--! It must've worn off!”

“Yer off your rocker,” Bunny grumped, but he couldn't help the hope welling inside him. He’d thought the same, when the gale began. Could it really have…? Carefully sitting up so as not to unbalance Jack, he closed his eyes, brought his hands in front of his face, and opened them again.

And saw---paws.  _ Paws. _

He touched his face next.  _ Whiskers. _ Then the space above his head.  _ Ears. _ A manic smile was starting on his face, and it only grew the more he explored his body, the more he felt his  _ nose _ and his  _ fur  _ and oh, oh thank Manny, his beautiful fluffy  _ tail! _

“I’m back!” he yelled, throwing his arms up in the air with enough force that Jack fell off his lap and Bunny fell onto his back. It didn't matter; this gave him the perfect opportunity to get rid of those ridiculous pants, which had ripped beyond use when his legs suddenly expanded during the change. He tossed them aside, then lay there for a moment, grinning and wiggling his nose and flicking his ears, and when he finally sat up he met an extremely rumpled yet happy-looking Jack.

“You're back.” Jack's eyes shone like freshly fallen snow in sunlight. His smile was warm, and fond, and it made Bunny's heart skip a beat. A second later – so quickly Bunny wondered if he'd imagined it – it had become Jack's usual mischievous smirk.

“Maybe now you'll stop moping.”

“Oi, I wasn't  _ moping _ .” Bunny pushed himself to his feet and hopped closer, reveling into the return of his ability to do so. And the return of his speed – before Jack could do anything, Bunny had scooped him up and pulled him into a noogie, making his hair even messier than the wind had.

Jack laughed, kicking and struggling in Bunny's grip, though not enough to mean it. “Hey, I'm only telling it like it is!”

“You bloody liar.” Bunny was laughing too, and somewhere in there the noogie turned into a tight hug, Bunny holding Jack to his chest and squeezing. He felt Jack's arms come up around him, felt him return the hug, and despite the chill of Jack's skin he grew warmer. He was back, and Jack was here, and everything was going to be alright after all--

Then Jack coughed, and wheezed, and tried to push away. “If you could stop crushing me..?“

“Oh, right. Sorry mate.” Bunnymund let the smaller Guardian go, smiling sheepishly as Jack stepped back to catch his breath. It gave Bunny another opportunity to check himself over, to really make sure this wasn't all some incredible dream. Not that this meant he was happy with Eostre, but. This felt real, and that meant the spell had worn off, just like she'd said.

“Look at that. Everything's fine now.” Bunny looked up to see Jack grinning. “Though, you know...” Jack twirled his staff, then hooked the crook of it around Bunny's neck to pull him closer. He got up on his tiptoes, free hand curling in the fur on Bunny's shoulder, bringing his mouth within a few inches of Bunny's. His breathed fanned over Bunny's cheeks, making his nose twitch. “I've kind of been wondering what this would be like.”

When Jack kissed him, the fluttering in his stomach, in his chest, was still there. But it was different. Bunny's arms remained at his sides, his ears stiff and rimrod straight, his eyes squeezed tight. He didn't have lips anymore. He was covered in fur. He was a  _ bunny _ .

Kissing Jack like this was weird. Too weird.

He pulled away quickly, ducking out from under the staff and taking a step back. He couldn't meet Jack's eyes, even as he caught the confused expression on Jack's face when he kept his distance.

“Actually,” Bunny said, “I got some things to take care of, now that I'm back. Get reacquainted with the Warren, start preparin' for Easter, you know. I'll see ya around.”

Jack laughed, still sounding confused. With, Bunny thought, the slightest stirrings of hurt. “Easter's a year away, you don't have anything to do yet.”

“Then...” Bunny swallowed. His ears dipped. “Then I need time to think.”

“'Think'? About what?”

“Well… you, and, uh, me.” Ears dipping further, Bunny's mouth twisted. He still couldn't look straight at Jack. He had a pretty good idea of what he'd see if he did, and it made him ache. “Can ya just give me some time?”

“Give you some time.” All of the confusion was gone; now Jack just sounded hurt, and annoyed. “Everything was fine a minute ago, and now suddenly you need me to 'give you some time'?”

The sharpness in his tone had Bunny bristling. “It was one thing when I was human,” he snapped. His temper flared, hot and fast, and he straightened from how he'd been slouching. “When we were the same. Now I'm a  _ rabbit _ again, mate, and it's—it's  _ weird! _ ”

“It's weird,” Jack repeated. Bunny finally looked him in the face, and what he saw there threw ice water over the defensive fire building in his belly. There was the hurt, the annoyance, and disbelief, too. Betrayal. Bunny wanted to reach out to him. Before he could, Jack shook his head, pulled his hood up over his mussed hair.

“Guess I'll be going, then.”

Bunny felt a chill. “Jack, wait--”

“No, no, I get it.” Jack's lip curled in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. “It's weird! I get it. I'll give you some time.” He laughed, high and cold, throwing both arms wide. He didn't even need to call for the wind, Bunny could feel it as it rushed past him, pulling Jack off the ground. Bunny's ears flapped in the retreating gust. Jack gave a little wave as he rose higher, not looking back.

“ _ Jack! _ ”

It was useless; Jack shot off into the sky, and within a moment he was nothing more than a speck, a dark fleck that traveled to the far side of the Warren before diving back down and disappearing through one of the tunnels. Bunny swore, thumping his foot against the ground, and started hopping toward the tunnel Jack had taken. If he could catch up with him, maybe he could talk some sense into the blighter. He could make Jack see that 'weird' didn't mean 'bad', and it wasn't Bunny's fault that things were different, they just were, and what did Jack have to be upset about anyway?

That thought had him drawing up short. What  _ did _ Jack have to be upset about? Shouldn't Bunny be the one upset, that Jack had run off like that just because Bunny didn't want to kiss him? Was that all Jack wanted out of this? Something in Bunny pointed out that he wasn't even sure what  _ he _ wanted, and he fiercely ignored it. No, Jack was in the wrong here. He was the one who'd freaked and left. It wasn't  _ Bunny's  _ fault.

Confident in this assessment, he looked up as one of the stone guardians approached him. “Can you believe that guy?” he said, laughing. It sounded more strained than he meant it. “Well, he can bugger off if he's gonna act like that!” He stared at the guardian, and it obediently shifted its faces from angry to happy, indicating its agreement. He crouched on his haunches, back straight with vindication, until the guardian then shifted to its neutral expression and turned to face Bunny more fully.

His mood immediately soured. “Don’t look at me like that,” he grumbled. “I’ve got a right to be worried about this. We’re – we're coworkers, after all! Best not to get into close relationships with coworkers, you know, it can only end badly.” The sentinel’s face remained unchanging, and Bunnymund huffed. Well, even if the guardian didn't believe him, he knew he was right.

“Don't look at me like that.” Bounding away, he stopped beside a small huddle of walking eggs, scooping them up and nuzzling against them. “I've got work to do, I wasn't lying about that. Got googies to plant, paint to mix, brushes to wash...” The guardian didn't come closer, but it didn't move away, either, and neither did its expression change. Bunny was becoming very irritated with its silent stare.

When it still wouldn’t stop, despite Bunny very pointedly ignoring it, irritation turned to anger. “Fine!” he shouted, startling the eggs in his grasp. “Fine! I'll talk to him later!”

Bunny turned away, stubbornly keeping his back to the judgmental guardian, only to wince when he saw a splattered mass of broken eggs on the ground. Some of those in his grasp had fallen free when he yelled and smashed on the grass below. He swallowed the guilt; these googies would rot in a few days anyway, and he'd already meant to use them as 'seeds' for next year's crop. He pushed thoughts of Jack from his mind, concentrating on the task at hand. He'd need to scrape the yolks and whites off the ground, plant them in the fields with the rest, Easter may be a year away but that didn't mean he could sit around doing nothing like he had the last few days...

And besides. He'd said he'd talk to Jack later. They were immortals, he told himself, ignoring the lead feeling in his gut. He had plenty of 'later' to work with.

  
  



End file.
